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Glial Cell Calcium Signaling Mediates Capillary Regulation of Blood Flow in the Retina.

ABSTRACT: UNLABELLED:The brain is critically dependent on the regulation of blood flow to nourish active neurons. One widely held hypothesis of blood flow regulation holds that active neurons stimulate Ca(2+) increases in glial cells, triggering glial release of vasodilating agents. This hypothesis has been challenged, as arteriole dilation can occur in the absence of glial Ca(2+) signaling. We address this controversy by imaging glial Ca(2+) signaling and vessel dilation in the mouse retina. We find that sensory stimulation results in Ca(2+) increases in the glial endfeet contacting capillaries, but not arterioles, and that capillary dilations often follow spontaneous Ca(2+) signaling. In IP3R2(-/-) mice, where glial Ca(2+) signaling is reduced, light-evoked capillary, but not arteriole, dilation is abolished. The results show that, independent of arterioles, capillaries actively dilate and regulate blood flow. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that glial Ca(2+) signaling regulates capillary but not arteriole blood flow. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT:We show that a Ca(2+)-dependent glial cell signaling mechanism is responsible for regulating capillary but not arteriole diameter. This finding resolves a long-standing controversy regarding the role of glial cells in regulating blood flow, demonstrating that glial Ca(2+) signaling is both necessary and sufficient to dilate capillaries. While the relative contributions of capillaries and arterioles to blood flow regulation remain unclear, elucidating the mechanisms that regulate capillary blood flow may ultimately lead to the development of therapies for treating diseases where blood flow regulation is disrupted, including Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and diabetic retinopathy. This finding may also aid in revealing the underlying neuronal activity that generates BOLD fMRI signals.

SUBMITTER: Biesecker KR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5013190 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Glial Cell Calcium Signaling Mediates Capillary Regulation of Blood Flow in the Retina.

Biesecker Kyle R KR Srienc Anja I AI Shimoda Angela M AM Agarwal Amit A Bergles Dwight E DE Kofuji Paulo P Newman Eric A EA

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 20160901 36

<h4>Unlabelled</h4>The brain is critically dependent on the regulation of blood flow to nourish active neurons. One widely held hypothesis of blood flow regulation holds that active neurons stimulate Ca(2+) increases in glial cells, triggering glial release of vasodilating agents. This hypothesis has been challenged, as arteriole dilation can occur in the absence of glial Ca(2+) signaling. We address this controversy by imaging glial Ca(2+) signaling and vessel dilation in the mouse retina. We f ...[more]

PMID: 27605617

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Project description:Key Points During glomerular capillary formation, endothelial cells sprout from the dorsal aorta and surround the bilateral glomerular primordia. Blood flow maintains tubular structures of the capillaries surrounding the glomerular primordia. Blood flow also promotes glomerular incorporation of blood vessels by inducing glomerular remodeling. Visual Abstract Background The renal glomerulus is a tuft of capillaries in Bowman’s capsule and functions as a blood-filtration unit in the kidney. The unique glomerular capillary tuft structure is relatively conserved through vertebrate species. However, the morphogenetic mechanism governing glomerular capillary tuft formation remains elusive. Methods To clarify how glomerular capillaries develop, we analyzed glomerular capillary formation in the zebrafish pronephros by exploiting fluorescence-based bio-imaging technology. Results During glomerular capillary formation in the zebrafish pronephros, endothelial cells initially sprouted from the dorsal aorta and formed the capillaries surrounding the bilateral glomerular primordia in response to podocyte progenitor-derived vascular endothelial growth factor-A. After formation, blood flow immediately occurred in the glomerular primordia-associated capillaries, while in the absence of blood flow, they were transformed into sheet-like structures enveloping the glomerular primordia. Subsequently, blood flow induced formation of Bowman’s space at the lateral sides of the bilateral glomerular primordia. Concomitantly, podocyte progenitors enveloped their surrounding capillaries while moving toward and coalescing at the midline. These capillaries then underwent extensive expansion and remodeling to establish a functional glomerular capillary tuft. However, stopping blood flow inhibited the remodeling of bilateral glomerular primordia, which therefore remained unvascularized but covered by the vascular sheets. Conclusions We delineated the morphogenetic processes governing glomerular capillary tuft formation in the zebrafish pronephros and demonstrated crucial roles of blood flow in its formation. Blood flow maintains tubular structures of the capillaries surrounding the glomerular primordia and promotes glomerular incorporation of these vessels by inducing the remodeling of glomerular primordia.

Dataset Information

Glial Cell Calcium Signaling Mediates Capillary Regulation of Blood Flow in the Retina.

Publications

Glial Cell Calcium Signaling Mediates Capillary Regulation of Blood Flow in the Retina.

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